The sinking of the Russian Moskva cruise missile in the Black Sea comes just days after Ukraine issued a stamp that immortalized the famous snake exchange between Russian and Ukrainian forces. An adviser to the Ukrainian president confirmed on Thursday that the Moskva was one of the ships involved in the exchange in February. The island was hit by Russian missile strikes, after Ukrainian defenders responded to the threat of Russian invasion with the words: “Russian warship, go alone.” The postage stamp: Ukrposhta, Ukraine’s postal service, announced on Tuesday that it had issued a postage stamp with the slogan. It shows a Ukrainian soldier standing provocatively in front of a Russian warship in the open sea. Roman Hrybov – the Ukrainian soldier who said the phrase – was invited to the unveiling ceremony, the service said in a statement. Some context: It was initially believed that Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in a subsequent attack, but were instead forced to surrender “due to a lack of ammunition”, according to the Ukrainian navy. Hrybov was later released on bail. The phrase has become a popular slogan in Ukraine during the invasion and is used as a symbol of contempt. “There would be no stamp or strong resistance as demonstrated by soldiers from Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island) without him,” the statement said. The warship: Conflicting accounts have emerged about the sinking of the warship, which was broadcast on Thursday by the Russian state news agency TASS. The Operational Administration of Southern Ukraine claimed on Thursday that Moskva had begun to sink after being hit by Neptune anti-ship missiles. Russia has said a fire broke out, causing ammunition to explode on the ship, causing severe damage to the ship and forcing its crew to evacuate. CNN could not independently verify what caused the damage to the ship. Read more about the sinking:
